READ 
OUT  LOUD' 
BOOKS 


"Tell  me  a  Story  about" 

OLD  KING  COLE 


Dwd 

ii  to 


Coine  oii      o  play 
T£e  NorlKVini  dolKDW 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


EDUC.- 

PSYCH. 

LIBRARY 

GIFT  OF 


Mrs,  Earle  Brown 


Old 

King  Cole 


JOHN    MARTIN 

[Morgan  Shepard] 


"Bonny  Lass";  "Fa,  Fe,  Fit 
Fo,  Fum!"  "Boys  and  Girls, 
Come  Out  to  Play";  "The 
North  Wind  Doth  Blow" 


New  York 

Dodd,  Mead  & 

Company 


COPYRIGHT,   1911 
DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

Published  October,  19/1 


PA 


OLD  KING 
COL& 

4  PIPTEE.N 


BONNY 
LASS 


BOY5 

QIRLS  CoMEOUT 

i/ar 


A  ^O  MINUTE  ^TOR^ 


EDUC.- 
PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


GIFT 


cret  oncL  "because  ^^elodii 


8B3 


OLD   KING   COLE 

Old  King  Cole 

Was  a  merry  old  soul, 

And  a  merry  old  soul  was  he; 

He  called  for  his  pipe, 

And  he  called  for  his  bowl, 

And  he  called  for  his  fiddlers  three. 

Every  fiddler  had  a  fiddle, 

And  a  very  fine  fiddle  had  he ; 

Twee  tweedle  dee,  tweedle  dee,  went  the  fiddlers. 

Oh,  there's  none  so  rare 

As  can  compare 
With  old  King  Cole  and  his  fiddlers  three. 

9 


MY  DEARS,  every  time  I  think 
of  old  King  Cole  I  feel  very 
happy.  Every  time  I  see 
old  King  Cole  I  want  to  laugh.  I  do 
laugh,  for  that  dear  old  Gentleman 
laughs  with  me.  Old  King  Cole  was 
the  kindest  old  soul  that  the  good 
World  ever  had  living  with  him.  I 
have  had  many  pleasant  visits  with 
King  Cole,  but  the  happiest  visit  of 
all  1  will  tell  you  about.  You  will 
love  old  King  Cole  as  I  do,  after  you 
have  heard  my  story. 

Old  King  Cole  was  King  of  all  the 
World,  so  his  Kingdom  was  very  great. 
Many  people  lived  in  his  kingdom, 
and  were  not  afraid  to  talk  to  their 
jolly  King.  If  they  had  any  troubles 
ii 


TWO 

•&$ 

OP 


TH.CN-^6  JV 


they  raced  right  off  to  him  and  told 
just  what  troubled  them.  The  only 
time  that  King  Cole  was  unhappy 
was  when  he  heard  about  other  peo- 
ple's troubles;  so,  of  course,  he  did 
his  very  best  to  cure  every  trouble  in 
his  wide  kingdom. 

One  day  I  went  to  call  on  King 
Cole.  He  was  snoozing  on  his  deep, 
soft  throne.  Every  now  and  then  a 
fine,  comfortable  SNORE  tumbled 
out  of  his  rosy  cheeks,  which  proved 
that  his  dreams  were  pleasant.  Beside 
him  on  the  floor  slept  his  Fiddlers 
Three.  Two  of  the  fiddlers  were  fat 
as  fat  could  be,  but  the  third  was  as  thin 
as  a  thin,  thin  tree.  None  of  those 
fiddlers  snored,  for  that  would  not 

'3 


rt  r  u. "  * 


have  been  respectful  to  Old  King  Cole. 
He  did  not  want  any  Stranger  Snores 
to  get  in  the  way  of  his  own  com- 
fortable Snores. 

It  was  some  time  before  I  had  the 
heart  to  wake  King  Cole.  He  seemed 
so  happy,  but  by  and  by  I  did  wake 
him  by  tickling  his  rosy  nose  with  a 
feather  duster  that  hung  on  the  arm 
of  his  Throne-chair. 

"Katch-ew!  Katch-ew!"  sneezed 
the  King.  I  almost  fell  over,  for  his 
sneeze  was  aimed  right  at  me.  The 
King  stared  at  me,  and  his  Fiddlers 
Three  jumped  to  their  feet,  waving 
their  fiddles. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ho,  ho,  my  Son,"  said  he, 
"you  came  to  make  a  call  on  me.  I 

'5 


wonder  if  you've  heard  before  a  snore 
as  snoreful  as  my  snore.  I'm  sorry, 
Sir;  I  was  asleep,  but  I  was  very,  very 
deep  in  one  strange  dream  that  made 
me  snore  as  I  had  never  snored  before. 
But  I  am  glad  you  woke  me,  Friend, 
for  pleasant  snores  must  have  an  end ; 
besides,  behind  my  dream  there  lay 
another  dream  that  took  away  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  dream  I  had,  it  made  my 
heart  so  sore  and  sad." 

-Sad!  SAD!"  cried  all  his  Fiddlers 
Three.  "  What  sadness  dares  to  come 
when  we  have  fiddles  that  we 
THREE  can  play  and  drive  all  sad- 
ness far  away? " 

"  O,  FiddlersThree,"  said  Old  King 
Cole,  "I  cannot  tell  to  save  my  soul. 

'7 


THOUGHT  V^RJ/ HARD. 


I  only  know  my  heart  was  sad  behind 
the  pleasant  dream  I  had.  So,  play  a 
tune,  my  Fiddlers  Three,  and  I  will 
try  my  best  to  see  what  made  my  heart 
so  sad  and  sore,  and  bothered  my  most 
cozy  snore." 

Then  kind  Old  King  Cole  sat 
deeper  on  his  throne,  and  began  to 
think  very  hard  and  earnestly.  I  could 
see  by  the  look  of  sadness  on  his  broad 
face  that  he  was  trying  to  find  where 
the  Trouble  lay.  I  wanted  to  help 
the  King,  so  I  said: 

"O,  King,  you  are  the  kindest  King. 
I  think  it  would  be  just  the  thing  to 
go  to  sleep  again,  and  find  the  Trouble 
that  is  on  your  mind.  Perhaps  a  care- 
ful snore  or  two  will  help  to  show  you 

19 


what  to  do.  Go  fast  asleep,  you  kind 
old  King,  and  dream  a  DREAM  like 
anything.  Then  go  and  catch  the 
Dream  that's  bad,  and  ask  it  why  it 
makes  you  sad." 

"O,  Fiddlers  Three/'  said  King,  "I 
see  how  very  wise  a  Friend  can  be.  So, 
play  me  tunes  with  might  and  main, 
and  I  will  go  to  sleep  again.  If  I 
should find  that  cruel  Dream  I'll  pinch 
it  hard  and  make  it  scream." 

Without  another  word  the  King 
fell  fast  asleep  on  his  cozy  throne. 
The  Fiddlers  Three  played  the  sweet- 
est tunes  they  knew.  It  was  very  plain 
to  see  that  those  Fiddlers  wanted  Old 
King  Cole  to  catch  his  bad  Dream. 
So,  twee  tweedle  dee — twee  tweedle  dee 

21 


went  the  fiddles  of  the  Fiddlers  Three, 
and  by  and  by  they  fell  faster  asleep 
than  Old  King  Cole;  but  they  never 
snored  one  snore — no,  not  even  the 
fattest  Fiddler. 

I  looked  at  Old  King  Cole  very 
re-spect-fully,  and  waited  to  hear  that 
the  King  had  caught  the  bad  Dream 
that  hid  behind  his  good  Dream.  In 
about  THREE  minutes  Old  King 
Cole  began  to  toss  about  on  his  throne 
as  if  he  was  very  uncomfortable.  Then 
he  began  to  snore  in  a  way  that  I  had 
never  heard  that  happy  King  snore 
before.  Yes,  he  snored  as  if  his  heart 
would  break,  and  not  as  if  his  heart 
was  happy,  as  it  should  be.  I  was  sure 
that  the  King  was  in  great  trouble, 


he  began  to  struggle  on  his  throne, 
until  I  felt  sure  he  would  fall  off. 

It  was  time  to  help  kind  King  Cole. 
I  stepped  up  on  his  throne  and  joggled 
his  elbow,  and  pushed  his  crown  tight 
upon  his  head.  I  called  loudly: 

"O,  dear  King  Cole,  please  wake- 
it  seems  you're  having  lots  of  horrid 
dreams.     You  must  have  caught  your 
cruel    Dream;   so  pinch  it  well,  and 
make  it  scream." 

I  had  no  sooner  spoken  those  words 
than  King  awoke  with  a  frightened 
SCREAM  and  an  angry  ROAR.  I 
had  never  heard  him  make  such  a 
sound  before.  He  was  very,  very 
angry,  and  his  royal  eyes  blazed  with 
in^dig-na-tion.  I  was  almost  fright- 


ened,  for  matters  were  serious  when 
Old  King  Cole  was  angry.  Up 
jumped  the  King  from  his  royal 
throne,  crying: 

"What  ho!  What  ho!  You  Fid- 
dlers Three,  come  hear  how  bad  a 
dream  can  be.  I  dreamed  a  dream  that 
was  a  SIN.  I  dreamed  that  many 
Children  in  this  land,  where  only 
Kindness  reigns,  had  many  little  aches 
and  pains.  I  dreamed  that  Children 
often  had  unhappy  times  that  made 
them  sad.  I  dreamed  that  sometimes 
folks  were  roug/i,znd  spoke  with  words 
both  cross  and  gruff.  I  dreamed  they 
had  not  food  enough.  And,  worst  of 
all,  some  people  cuffed  a  Little  Child 
to  make  it  mind.  That  was  the  Dream 
27 


I  caught  behind  the  other  pleasant 
Dream  I  had.  And,  DEAR,  O, 
DEAR !  My  Heart  is  SAD.  I'm 
getting  very  fierce  and  mad  to  think 
MY  Kingdom  is  so  BAD." 

With  a  grand  wave  of  his  hand  Old 
King  Cole  shouted  to  his  Fiddlers 
Three,  and  ordered  them  to  hasten 
into  all  parts  of  his  Kingdom  and  get 
for  him  as  many  Little  Children  as 
they  could  find.  He  ordered  them 
to  bring  the  Children  to  the  foot  of 
his  royal  throne.  He  would  ask  the 
Children  if  his  Dream  was  true. 

So  off  raced  the  Fiddlers  Three,  as 

fast  as  their  legs  could   carry   them. 

The  two  fat  Fiddlers  and  the  one  thin 

Fiddler  played  their  Fiddles  as  they 

29 


ran.  Twee  twee  die  dee — twee  twee  die  dee 
went  the  fiddles  of  the  Fiddlers  Three. 
It  was  not  long  before  HUNDREDS 
and  HUNDREDS  of  Children  were 
following  the  merry,  fiddling  Fid- 
dlers. Very  soon  a  whole  ARMY  of 
Little  Children  followed  in  the  foot- 
steps of  those  Fiddlers.  It  was  time 
to  return  to  Old  King  Cole. 

O,  Dearies,  it  was  a  beautiful  sight 
to  see  all  those  Little  Children  march 
straight  up  to  the  throne  of  Old  King 
Cole.  Not  a  Child  in  all  that  Army 
of  Little  Folks  was  the  least  bit  afraid 
of  the  royal  King.  I  looked  and 
wondered  that  the  World  could  hold 
so  many  Little  Children.  I  looked 
and  wondered  if  it  were  pos-si-ble  that 

31 


THEY  tyL,  CRgJWD^D  ^RpUND  THE, 


Old  King  Cole's  sad  Dream  could  be 
true.  Then  the  King  spoke,  and  a 
great  love-look  was  in  his  eyes: 

"O,  Children,  dear,  come  straight 
to  me,  for  I  am  happy  as  can  be  to 
have  you  Little  Children  near.  It 
makes  my  HEART  feel  glad  and 
dear.  O,LittleOnes,  I  had  a  DREAM; 
it  frightened  me  and  made  me  scream. 
I  dreamed  that  my  great  Kingdom 
had  some  SINS  that  made  my  Chil- 
dren SAD.  O,  Children!  Children! 
is  it  so?  O,  if  it  is,  please  let  me 
know.  O,  Children  dear,  I  cannot 
stand  a  SIN  like  this  in  KING 
COLE'S  LAND.  So,  come  to  me, 
some  Little  One,  and  tell  me  just  what 
should  be  done." 

33 


POOR.  OTtl^  I^JMfe  BOW  dRUTCH 


Then,  Dearies,  a  very  unhappy  thing 
happened.  Every  Little  Child  in  all 
that  Army  of  Little  Ones  began  to 
cry  very  quiet  little  cries.  They  did 
not  make  a  noise  about  their  crying, 
which  made  it  all  the  sadder.  They 
only  cried  behind  their  hands  very 
softly,  and  tears  slipped  through  thou- 
sands of  trembling  little  fingers. 

You  should  have  seen  the  face  of 
Old  King  Cole.  First  it  got  very 
white,  then  it  got  very  red,  and  then 
it  went  into  white  again.  His  kind 
hands  pinched  the  arms  of  his  throne- 
chair  until  they  squeaked.  As  for 
the  Fiddlers  Three,  their  lips  were 
dumb,  and  their  fiddles  hung  like  tired 
Dollies  in  their  hands.  Then  another 
35 


sad  thing  happened.  A  little  Lame 
Boy,  with  a  very  white  face,  limped 
to  the  foot  of  King's  throne.  He  said, 
while  drying  his  eyes: 

"Yes,  King,  there  are  some  Chil- 
dren in  your  great,  kind  Kingdom 
that  are  thin,  for  sometimes  folks  are 
very  gruff,  and  do  not  give  themy^/ 
enough.  But,  what  is  just  the  hardest 
thing,  we  .often  want  to  play  and  sing. 
We  want  to  see  old,  golden  Sun.  We 
often  want  to  have  some  FUN;  but, 
somehow,  when  the  day  is  done,  we 
haven't  seen  the  golden  Sun.  Some 
days  are  very  dark  and  long,  without 
that  FUN,  and  with  no  song.  But 
don't  you  bother,  dear  Old  King,  we'll 
do  our  best  to  learn  to  sing.  If  we 

37 


UP  IN  fct 


do  thatj  perhaps  some  day  all  cruel 
things  will  run  away." 

After  little  Lame  Boy  had  said  that, 
he  climbed  upon  King  Cole's  broad 
knees.  The  King  took  that  little  Boy 
in  his  arms,  and  hugged  him  and 
kissed  him  and  loved  him  with  all 
the  love  in  his  great  heart.  The  King 
loved  the  Child  so  greatly  and  ten- 
derly that  his  good  face  looked  like  a 
golden  Sun  with  the  love  he  loved 
upon  it.  Then  the  King  arose,  with 
little  Lame  Boy  in  his  arms,  and  said: 

"  O,  Children !  Every  Blessed  One ! 
You  shall  have  Love  and  Food  and 
FUN.  You  shall  have  SUN  the  live- 
long day,  and  lots  of  Songs  and  Smiles 
and  Play.  O,  listen,  Dears,  come  here 

39 


to  me,  and  see  how  happy  you  can 
be.  Come  forth !  come  forth  !  you 
Fiddlers  Three,  and  play  your  nicest 
Tweedle  dee.  Ho,  ho,  bring  forth  my 
jolly  BOWL,  for  I  shall  be  the  glad- 
dest soul  that  ever  any  Kingdom  had. 
I'll  make  these  Children  very  glad. 
Ho,  ho,  bring  forth  my  good  PIPE, 
too — the  one  I  blow  my  BUBBLES 
through/' 

Saying  that,  the  King  sat  down 
and  waited  for  the  things  he  had 
asked  for.  The  Fiddlers  Three  began 
to  play  the  merriest  tune  ever  played 
by  fiddlers. 

The  merry  tunes  that  the  Fiddlers 
played  soon  made  ten  thousand  merry 
Birds  fly  from  their  homes  in  the 


forest.  Then  the  tunes  of  the  Fiddlers 
Three  made  those  Birds  light  on  the 
heads  and  shoulders  and  hands  of 
every  Child  who  stood  near  the  throne 
of  the  King.  The  Birds  sang  their 
best  Spring-time  Songs,  as  theFiddlers 
fiddled.  The  Children  began  to  dance 
and  sing  and  laugh,  and  they  took 
turns  sitting  on  the  broad  knee  of  Old 
King  Cole.  "Twee  tweedle  dee"  the 
fiddles  said,  until,  at  last,  in  came  the 
King's  COOK  with  the  King's 
BOWL,  and  in  came  the  King's 
Fairy  Mother  with  the  King's  PIPE. 
That  BOWL  was  a  magic  Bowl. 
The  King  gave  Food  and  sweet  Drink 
to  every  Child  that  played  about  his 
throne ;  so  their  Hearts  were  glad  and 

43 


their  little  stomachs  were  full.  I 
looked  and  saw  the  Children  were 
very  happy,  and  thought  I  was  at  a 
very  big  BIRTHDAY  PARTY. 
Then  the  King  spoke: 

"Now,  Children  dear,  I'll  try  to 
show  what  magic  BUBBLES  I  can 
blow.  Some  Children  here  are  lame 
or  blind,  and  some  have  backs  all  bent 
behind.  Some  little  faces  are  too 
white;  now,  Children  dear,  this  is 
not  right.  Come  very  near  me,  Chil- 
dren, so  you  all  can  see  my  BUBBLES 
grow/' 

The  Children  crowded  close  to  the 
throne  of  the  King.  He  dipped  his 
magic  PIPE  into  his  beautiful 
BOWL,  and  then  puffed  out  his  rosy 

45 


cheeks  and  blew.  He  blew  the  big- 
gest, brightest,  fattest  Bubbles  in  all 
the  world.  He  blew  THOUSANDS 
of  Rainbow  Bubbles.  Like  floating 
crystal  Worlds  they  rose  from  King's 
Magic  Pipe.  Bubble  after  Bubble 
sailed  up  and  around,  and  found  the 
heads  of  Children  they  loved  best; 
then  they  stopped  there.  O,  Dears! 
then  they  burst  into  thousands  of  rain- 
bow drops  all  over  the  heads  of  the 
Children.  And  here  comes  the  mag- 
ical part  of  my  story : 

In  an  instant  there  was  not  a  blind, 
or  lame,  or  bent  Child  standing  before 
the  King.  They  were  all  cured  of  every 
pain  and  trouble;  and  all  unhappi- 
ness  passed  out  of  their  little  Hearts. 

47 


Old  King  Cole  looked  up  from  his 
golden  Bowl  and  smiled;  then  he 
put  his  Pipe  into  a  pocket  over  his 
heart.  King  Cole  said  nothing  more; 
but  he  smiled,  and  his  eyes  grew  mer- 
rier and  his  cheeks  rosier  than  ever. 
I  wondered  why  the  King  did  not 
speak.  I  suppose  he  was  too  happy 
to  say  a  word. 

The  Fiddlers  Three  fiddled  on— 
twee  tweedle  dee — and  almost  sawed 
their  fiddles  in  two.  Then  the  Chil- 
dren all  made  a  bow  to  the  King,  as 
he  held  his  hands  out  over  the  place 
before  his  throne. 

At  last  the  Children  said  "GOOD- 
BYE" to  the  King,  and  passed  into 
the  Great  Kingdom  of  Old  King  Cole. 

49 


©U> 


Never  again  were  they  unhappy. 
Never  again  did  they  hear  gruff 
words;  so  all  the  World  was  a  joyful 
place. 

Many  times  after  that  I  called  upon 
Old  King  Cole.  Many,  many  snores 
did  he  snore,  but  not  one  of  his  snores 
had  an  unhappy  ending.  Many,  many 
times  did  the  good  King  DREAM; 
but  never  again  did  he  see  a  BAD 
Dream  behind  a  GOOD  DREAM. 


BONNY   LASS 

Bonny  Lass !     Bonny  Lass  ! 

Will  you  be  mine? 
You  shall  neither  wash  dishes 

Nor  serve  the  wine, 
But  sit  on  a  cushion  and  sew  up  a  seam, 

And  you  shall  have  strawberries,  sugar  and  cream. 

MY  DEARS,  I  knew  a  little 
Girl;   her  name  was  Betsy 
White;     her   cheeks  were 
red  as    the   roses  are;    her  hair   was 
golden-bright.      She  wasn't  very  big, 

53 


<D 


<f!> 


my  Dears.  She  wasn't  very  small,  be- 
cause her  pretty  golden  head  came  up 
above  my  knee.  That  little  Girl  was 
not  my  child,  but  I  knew  Betsy's 
Mother ;  she  told  me  what  I'm  telling 
you,  and  I  believe  her  Mother. 

That  little  Betsy  White  was  good 
as  'most  all  Children  are;  but  now 
and  then  she  wasn't  good,  and  I  am 
sorry,  Dears.  Our  Betsy's  Mother 
liked  her  child  to  help  about  the 
house  and  do  some  very  simple  things, 
to  show  that  she  could  be  a  kind  and 
useful  little  girl,  as  well  as  nice  to  see. 

One  day  Miss  Betsy  came  to  ask  her 
Mother  for  a  piece  of  Bread  with 
sugar  over  it.  She  said  her  appetite 
was  just  the  biggest  appetite  that  she 

55 


THEfHIN 
"TO 


had  ever  had.  But  Mother  smiled, 
and  said  to  her  as  kindly  as  could  be: 

"O,  Betsy,  dear,  now  don't  you 
think  you'd  better  wait  a  while?  An 
hour  has  not  passed,  my  Dear,  since 
you  had  such  a  meal.  Instead  of  eat- 
ing, don't  you  think  you'd  like  to  help 
me  do  some  little  things  about  the 
house?  I'll  only  ask  zfew" 

"O,  Mother,  please  give  me  some 
bread,"  our  little  Betsy  said.  "  I  am 
so  hungry,  Mother  dear,  I  don't  know 
what  to  do/' 

"My  Dear,"  said  Mother,  "stop 
and  think;  do  you  want  Mother  to 
keep  working  all  day  long,  my  Dear. 
I  have  so  much  to  do.  Why,  really, 
Dear,  it  seems  to  me,  a  little  girl  like 

57 


TO  THE  PANTRV 


you  should  like  to  help  a  little  bit 
with  all  I  have  to  do/' 

"No,  no/'  said  Betsy,  "can't  I  have 
a  little  piece  of  bread?  O,  put  some 
sugar  on  it,  too.  I  do  not  want  to 
work." 

You  see,  my  Dears,  that  Betsy 
White  was  not  a  helpful  child.  But, 
when  she  asked  for  BREAD,  it 
seemed  to  Mother  that  her  child 
might  really  be  in  want  of  food.  So 
Betsy's  Mother  sighed,  and  went 
straight  to  the  pantry,  where  she  cut 
a  good,  thick  slice  of  bread,  and  then 
she  buttered  it.  She  buttered  it,  my 
Dears;  but  not  a  bit  of  SUGAR  did 
that  Mother  put  on  top.  If  Betsy  was 
so  hungry,  she  would  be  quite  satis- 

59 


fied  with  one  thick  slice  of  healthful 
BREAD  just  buttered  on  one  side. 

But  Betsy  puckered  up  her  mouth, 
and  didn't  take  a  bite.  She  only 
fussed  and  mussed  with  it,  which 
wasn't  truly  right.  Then  Mother 
went  about  her  work,  and  did  it  all 
alone.  Miss  Betsy,  rather  sulkily,  went 
out  into  the  yard  and  moped  about  a 
little  while.  Then,  by  and  by,  she 
went  on  to  the  BARN;  then  on  to 
where  PIG  kept  a  piggish  house. 

Old  Pig  was  sitting  in  his  House, 
with  such  a  dirty  face.  Miss  Betsy 
looked  at  Mr.  Pig,  and  Pig  looked 
back  at  her.  Pig  gave  a  grunt,  she 
gave  a  frown,  and  mussed  her  BREAD 
some  more.  Right  through  the  fence, 
61 


COULD 


about  the  pen  of  dirty  Mr.  Pig,  Miss 
Betsy  White  could  see  and  hear  what 
dirty  Piggie  did.  She  didn't  like  the 
looks  of  Pig.  She  didn't  like  his 
grunts.  She  didn't  like  his  lazy  ways 
or  anything  he  did. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  Miss 
Betsy  had  enough  of  dirty,  grunty 
Mr.  Pig,  and  so  she  turned  to  go. 
But  Mr.  Pig  gave  several  grunts,  with 
all  his  might  and  main,  which  made 
Miss  Betsy  turn  around  to  look  at  him 
again.  Pig  seemed  to  want  to  talk  to 
her,  and  acted  in  a  way  that  was 
familiar  for  a  PIG;  so  Betsy  stared 
at  him.  Then,  with  a  sulky  little 
frown,  Miss  Betsy  White  sat  down  to 
listen  to  the  grunting  words  old  Pig- 

63 


THtT 


OLD 


gie  had  to  say.     So,  Dearies,  here's 
whatPiggie  said  to  little  Betsy  White: 

"How  do!  my  Dear.     Grunt !  grunt !  my  Dear. 

I'm  very  glad  to  see 
That  you  have  come  a-calling  here, 

To  talk  with  dirty  me. 
Ho,  ho,  you  have  some  bread,  Miss  White, 

With  butter  on  one  side. 
O,  give  me  just  one  little  bite. 

My  mouth  is  open  wide." 

When  Pig  said  that  he  opened  up 
his  mouth  so  far  and  wide  that  Betsy 
couldn't  help  but  see  quite  far  and 
deep  inside.  It  was  not  very  pretty, 
and  it  made  Miss  Betsy  White  dis- 
gusted with  old  Pig,  because  it  'was  a 
piggish  sight.  But  Mr.  Piggie  didn't 
care.  He  lolled  his  muddy  head.  He 

65 


gave  a  grunty  kind  of  yawn,  and  this 
is  what  he  said: 

"I  am  so  glad  you  like  me,  Miss. 

Yes,  /  am  lazy,  too, 
I  love  to  lead  a  life  like  this, 

With  nothing  good  to  do. 
I  love  to  sit  around  and  eat. 

I  am  a  lazy  Shirk. 
My  joy  is  always  most  complete 

When  other  people  work." 

Once  more  Pig  stopped  to  give  a 
yawn, 'most  big  enough  to  hurt.  Then 
he  just  poked  his  nose  around  in  lots 
of  mud  and  dirt.  By  this  time  little 
Betsy  White  began  to  plainly  see  how 
selfish,  and  how  lazy,  too,  a  grunty 
Pig  could  be.  Then  she  began  to 
think  and  think.  What  would  she  ever 
do  if  she  got  mussy,  like  a  Pig,  and 

67 


very  selfish,  too?  Yes — she  was  think- 
ing very  hard.  Her  face  was  turned 
away  from  Mr.  Pig;  but  suddenly  she 
heard  that  Grunter  say: 

«'  Yes,  yes,  my  Dear,  what  is  the  use 

Of  helping  anyone  ? 
/  always  have  the  best  excuse 

For  leaving  things  undone. 
So,  move  to  my  House,  Betsy  dear, 

I'll  share  my  House  with  you. 
There  is  no  work  to  bother  here. 

There's  not  a  thing  to  do." 

That  was  too  much  for  Betsy  White. 
Her  eyes  grew  round  and  big,  because 
she  saw  that  in  some  ways  she'd  acted 
like  a  PIG.  Yes — she  was  lazy,  and 
she  saw  that  she  was  selfish,  too;  for 
she  remembered  all  the  work  her 
Mother  had  to  do.  So  off  she  ran 


IBSTJY  CRJSD  ON  -^OTH^  K£n£ 


from  Piggie's  House,  as  fast  as  she 
could  fly,  until  she  came  to  Mother's 
side;  then  she  began  to  cry. 

"  O,  Mother,  Mother ! "  Betsy  cried, 
"  I  want  to  let  you  know  that  I  am 
very  selfish,  Dear;  I  came  to  tell  you 
so.  I  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Pig.  O, 
Mother,  now  I  see  how  selfish,  and 
how  lazy,  too,  your  little  girl  can  be." 

Poor  Betsy  cried  on  Mother's  knee; 
but  Mother  simply  smiled,  and  very 
soon  she  laughed  aloud,  and  kissed 
her  blessed  Child.  Then  Mother  put 
her  gentle  hand  on  Betsy's  pretty  head, 
and  Betsy  thought  her  Mother's  voice 
was  music  when  she  said: 

"There,  there,  my  Dear.  Come, 
dry  your  eyes.  Your  Mother  under- 


H£t,P£D  IrTOTH^K 


stands.  There;  do  not  cry.  O,  dear! 
O,  dear!  what  dirty  little  hands.  O, 
I  am  glad  you're  sorry,  Dear.  We'll 
try  with  might  and  main  to  never  be 
so  selfish,  or  a  lazy  child  again." 

Then  Mother  washed  her  Betsy's 
hands,  and  Betsy  dried  them  well,  so 
there  was  not  a  bit  of  that  strange 
"bread-and-butter"  smell.  ThenBetsy 
had  some  strawberries,  with  lots  of 
lovely  cream.  And  all  about  that  grunty 
PIG  was  just  a  horrid  DREAM. 

Well,  ever  after  that,  my  Dears,  our 
little  Betsy  White  helped  Mother  in 
a  lot  of  ways,  which  was  exactly 
right.  This  proves,  my  Dears,  that 
when  we  have  some  little  things  to 
do,  it's  always  right  to  do  them,  Dears, 
as  they  are  done  by  TOU. 

73 


FA,   FE,   FI,   FO,   FUM! 

Fa,  fe,  fi,  fo,  FUM  ! 
I  smell  the  blood  of  an  Englishman. 

Be  he  live  or  be  he  dead, 
I'll  grind  his  bones  to  make  my  bread. 

OMY  Dears,  what  a  savage  and 
what  a  cross  little  song  that 
is !    But  when  you  hear  my 
story   you  will   not  mind  it,  for  my 
story  ends  very  happily. 

Once  upon  a  happy  time  there  was 
a  very  great  Johnnie  GIANT.      He 

75 


was  as  tall  as  a  very  high  TREE.  Be- 
sides being  tall,  he  was  very  fat, indeed. 
It  would  take  the  arms  of  at  least  a 
HUNDRED  little  Children  to  hug 
him  where  his  belt  was.  Johnnie 
Giant  wore  very  short  trousers,  and  very 
short  whiskers,  and  a  very  short  little 
hat.  Johnnie  Giant  lived  on  a  cozy 
little  Island  of  his  own,  but  it  was  en- 
tirely too  small  for  a  GIANT  as  tall 
and  fat  as  he.  Johnnie  was  a  great 
walker.  He  liked  to  walk  on  the  Land 
of  another  great  Giant,  who  was  his 
neighbor.  Johnnie  did  not  like  his 
neighbor,  nor  did  his  neighbor  like 
him,  which  made  trouble  between 
those  two  great  GIANTS. 

Who  was  his  neighbor  ?   I  will  tell 

77 


•MR. 


you.  His  neighbor's  name  was 
than  GIANT,  and  he  was  as  tall  as  a 
tall,  tall  TREE.  Besides  being  tall 
as  a  tree,  he  was  as  thin  as  a  thin  tree, 
and  it  was  a  wonder  that  he  did  not 
break  in  two  pieces  right  where  his 
belt  was.  It  took  only  TWENTY- 
FIVE  little  Children  to  hug  Jonathan. 
This  Giant  wore  very  long  trousers, 
and  a  very  long  beard,  and  a  very  long, 
high  hat. 

Jonathan  Giant  lived  in  a  Land  that 
was  too  big  for  him,  except  when  he 
was  lying  down,  which  happened 
every  now  and  then.  One  day  Jona- 
than Giant  was  chopping  kindling 
wood  on  his  good  chopping-block, 
and — O,  dear!  he  cut  his  right  thumb, 

79 


so  that  it  bled  three  little  drops  of 
blood  on  his  chopping-block.  The  cut 
did  not  hurt  him  very  much,  but  it 
hurt  enough  to  make  him  want  a  big 
piece  of  PUMPKIN  PIE. 

"Fa,  fe,  fi,"  said  he.  "I  want  a 
piece  of  PIE,"  said  he.  "Fa,  fe,  fi, 
fo,  FUM  !  I  guess  I'll  go  and  get  me 
some." 

So  Jonathan  started  out  to  get  his 
PIE.  But  now,  my  Dears,  I  must 
tell  you  what  Johnnie  Giant  was  doing 
while  Jonathan  was  cutting  his  kind- 
ling wood  and  his  thumb. 

Johnnie  felt  like  taking  a  walk,  as 

most  Johnnie  Giants  do;  so  he  jumped 

over  on  Jonathan's  Land,  as  grandly 

as  could  be.    He  marched  straight  to 

81 


JOHNNIS  CUTKLS 


the  PUMPKIN- PIE  Cupboard  of 
Jonathan  Giant.  He  wanted  a  piece 
of  PIE.  With  his  own  big  Jack- 
knife  he  cut  off  at  least  more  than  a 
HALF  of  a  Pie,  which  was  very 
greedy  of  him.  Of  course,  he  cut  his 
big,  fat  right  thumb.  It  bled  a  little, 
but  not  enough  to  take  away  his  ap- 
petite for  PIE.  THREE  little  drops 
of  Johnnie's  blood  fell  on  the  shelf  of 
Jonathan's  Pie-cupboard.  Away  hur- 
ried Johnnie  to  eat  his  pie  before  he 
lost  his  appetite.  Away  he  trotted 
through  the  front  door  of  Jonathan's 
house.  Away  he  marched  straight  to 
Jonathan's  chopping-block,  to  eat  his 
pie  all  to  pieces  in  comfort. 

In  came  Jonathan  through  the  back 

83 


J'l  Jfrp&lr  JOHNNI&f  BI/DQD? 


door  of  his  own  house.  Straight  as  an 
arrow  he  stamped  towards  his  lovely 
Pie-cupboard.  Then,  my  Dears,  he 
stopped  very  suddenly,  and  began  to 
sniff  and  sniff,  for  he  had  a  very  sharp 
nose.  Then  his  keen  little  eyes  looked 
here  and  there,  as  sparks  flew  from 
them.  His  beard  began  to  bristle,  and 
he  hissed  with  a  very  fierce  hiss: 

"Fa,  fe,  ft,  fo,  FUM!  I  smell  the 
blood  of  a  Johnnie  Giant.  Fa,  fe,  fi! 
He's  stolen  my  PIE.  Shame  on  you, 
Johnnie.  Why — I — yes —  /will catch 
you  alive,  or  I'll  catch  you  dead,  and 
I'll  pound  you  as  Grandmother  pounds 
her  bread." 

O,  my  Dears,  but  that  Giant  was 
angry!  He  strode  here  and  there  like 

85 


a  wild  TIGER,  looking  for  Johnnie 
Giant.  The  more  he  strode,  the 
wilder  was  the  way  his  beard  bristled. 

Now,  you  must  hear  about  Johnnie 
Giant  again.  He  no  sooner  got  settled 
down  on  Jonathan's  chopping-block, 
than  he  began  to  sniff  with  his  nose, 
for  he  smelled  the  THREE  drops  of 
blood  that  fell  from  the  right  thumb 
of  Jonathan  Giant.  He  stopped  eating 
PIE,  for  the  least  smell  of  Jonathan's 
blood  took  his  appetite  away.  His 
short  whiskers  curled  closer  than  ever. 
His  belt  got  tighter  than  ever.  He 
stamped  and  raged  around  like  a  caged 
Lion.  He  was  very  angry,  as  you  can 
see,  for  he  said: 

"Fa,  fe,  fi,  fo,   FUM!     Yes,   I'll 

87 


IS 


catch  him.  Yes,  I  can.  Fa,  fe!  Yes, 
I  smell  the  blood  of  Jonathan  Yan- 
keeman.  When  I  get  him  I  will 
whack  him.  When  I  catch  him  I 
will  smack  him/' 

O,  Children,  how  wicked  and  angry 
those  Giants  were.  It  is  very  plain  to 
see  that  each  had  a  naughty  grudge, 
one  against  the  other.  It  is  very  plain 
to  see  that,  if  they  found  each  other, 
there  would  be  a  fearful  quarrel. 
When  GIANTS  fight  it  is  a  very  BIG 
and  dangerous  fight.  They  always 
bang  each  other  with  anything  they 
can  lay  their  hands  upon.  They  pull 
up  trees.  They  push  Mountains  over. 
They  make  Rivers  all  muddy.  O. 
what  was  to  be  done? 


Well,  Dears,  here  comes  the  won- 
derful part  of  my  story.  The  BIRDS 
and  little  ANIMALS  in  all  the  good 
Forest  heard  those  Giants  getting 
angry,  and  they  knew  that  if  the 
quarrel  could  not  be  stopped,  there 
would  not  be  a  Tree  in  the  Forest  left 
for  them  to  build  their  nests  in.  There 
would  be  no  shady  spots  to  play  under. 
Every  Tree  in  the  Forest  would  be 
pulled  up  by  the  roots,  if  those  angry 
Giants  ever  began  fighting. 

The  Birds  knew  that  it  was  about 
THREE  O'CLOCK  in  theafternoon. 
They  knew  that  it  was  time  for  the 
Children  to  be  coming  home  from 
School.  So  away  flew  the  Birds,  and 
away  trotted  the  little  animals  to  tell 


the  Children  about  those  two  angry 
Giants.  The  little  Forest  People  knew 
that  GIANTS  always  obey  Children. 
They  knew  that  the  Children  could 
stop  that  "GIANT-FIGHT,"  and 
make  those  two  Giants  good  Friends 
for  ever  afterwards.  Very  soon  the 
Birds  and  Animals  met  the  Children 
on  their  way  to  their  Homes. 

"O,  Children  dear,  please  hurry, 
hurry,  and  stop  those  Giants  from 
FIGHTING.  Hurry,  hurry,  Dears! 
or  there  will  not  be  a  Tree  left  in  our 
Forest." 

That  is  what  the  Birds  and  Animals 
cried  as  they  flocked  about  the  Chil- 
dren. So  the  Children  did  hurry  as 
fast  as  they  could.  They  made  a 

93 


!  t  COMMtyfD  VOU" 


great  dust  on  the  road,  for  there  were 
at  least  a  HUNDRED  and  TWEN- 
TY-FIVE Children  racing  to  stop 
that  GIANT-FIGHT. 

The  Children  and  the  Forest  Peo- 
ple rushed  around  the  House  of  Jona- 
than Giant  just  in  time.  Those  two 
angry  GIANTS  were  about  to  pounce 
on  each  other.  (What  a  fearful  pounce 
that  would  have  been.)  They  were 
roaring  at  each  other  like  wild  beasts, 
and  their  feet  made  a  sound  of  thunder 
beneath  them.  Then  a  brave  littleBoy 
strode  up  to  Johnnie  Giant,  and 
shouted: 

"STOP!  STOP!  I  command  you, 
Johnnie  Giant. " 

A  very  brave  little  Girl,  with  very 

95 


brown  hair,  ran  up  to  Jonathan  Giant 
and  cried: 

"  STOP!  STOP !  naughty  Jonathan. 
STOP!  I  command  you." 

O,  Children — wonder  of  wonders ! 
Those  two  angry  Giants  stopped  their 
anger  instantly  and  looked  very  much 
ashamed.  They  both  dropped  their 
PIE  on  the  ground  because  they  were 
so  ashamed.  Then  Little  Girl  said: 

"  Now,  sit  down,  you  naughty  Dears. 
Sit  right  on  the  ground  and  look  at 
each  other,  and  see  how  angry  your 
faces  are.  O,  shame — O,  shame,  you 
Johnnie  and  you  Jonathan!" 

Both  of  those  Giants  sat  down  /»- 
stantly.  Johnnie  looked  at  Jonathan 
and  Jonathan  looked  back  at  Johnnie. 

97 


They  never  took  their  eyes  from  each 
other's  faces.  Little  by  little  their 
faces  began  to  change  from  angry 
looks  to  funny  looks.  Suddenly  those 
two  GIANTS  burst  into  ROARS  of 
LAUGHTER,  and  I  can  tell  you, 
Dears,  that  when  Giants  laugh,  the 
whole  world  shakes  with  laughter, 
too. 

"O,  you  funny  Jonathan,"  roared 
Johnnie  Giant.  "  What  long  whiskers 
you  have.  O,  O,  you  have  PUMP- 
KIN PIE  on  your  whiskers!  O,  O, 
Ha,  Ha-Ha,  Ho  !  " 

"  O,  you  funny,  funny  Johnnie," 
roared  Jonathan  Giant.  "What  curly 
whiskers  you  have.  O,  O,  you  have 
PUMPKIN  PIE  on  your  whiskers. 

99 


THEY 


O,   ha,    ha —     Ha,    ho,    there  never 
was  anyone  so  nice  and  funny  as  you." 

And  those  two  Giants  nearly  died 
laughing  at  each  other.  At  last  the 
Little  Girl  said  to  them: 

"STOP  laughing,  for  we  have 
something  to  do." 

So  the  Giants  stopped  laughing  in- 
stantly. Then  ONE  HUNDRED 
Children  hugged  Johnnie  Giant  about 
his  big  waist,  and  TWENTY-FIVE 
Children  hugged  Jonathan  about  his 
thin  waist;  but  theTWENTY-FIVE 
Children  had  just  as  much  fun  as  the 
HUNDRED  Children  did.  Then 
the  Little  Boy  said: 

"Now,  Mr.  Johnnie  and  Mr.  Jona- 
than, SHAKE  HANDS  instantly -." 
101 


The  Giants  rose  to  their  feet,  and 
shook  hands  with  all  their  might. 

"Ouch!"  cried  Johnnie  to  Jonathan, 
"you  hurt  my  THUMB." 

"  Ouch !"  cried  Jonathan  to  Johnnie, 
"You  hurt  my  THUMB,  too." 

So  the  Giants  let  go  each  other's 
hands,  and  looked  at  their  sore  thumbs. 
Much  to  their  surprise,  each  Giant 
had  a  little  THUMB-BLOOD  of  the 
other  Giant  on  his  right  hand.  They 
were  not  sorry  at  all,  but  shouted 
gladly,  in  one  great  voice: 

"Fa,  fe,  fi,  fo,  FUM!  I  smell  the 
blood  of  my  Brother-man.  I'll  fight 
for  my  Brother  till  I  am  dead,  and  he 
shall  share  my  PIE  and  BREAD. 
For  see,  O,  see,  you  Children,  see, 
103 


our  BLOOD  is  mixed,  so  BRO- 
THERS are  we,  Brothers  are  we." 

"That  is  very  true,"  said  Little 
Boy. 

So  all  the  Children  ran  away  to 
their  homes,  and  played  as  if  nothing 
had  happened.  The  Birds  and  the 
Animals  went  into  their  Forest,  and 
were  happy  ever  afterwards.  As  for 
those  two  GIANTS,  you  may  see 
them  almost  any  day,  walking  arm  in 
arm,  very  sociably ;  but  they  are  very 
apt  to  be  munching  large  pieces  of 
PUMPKIN  PIE. 


105 


BOYS  AND   GIRLS   COME 
OUT   TO   PLAY 

Boys  and  Girls  come  out  to  play, 
The  moon  does  shine  as  bright  as  day, 
Leave  your  supper,  and  leave  your  sleep, 
And  meet  your  playfellows  in  the  street ; 
Come  with  a  whoop,  and  come  with  a  call, 
And  come  with  a  good  will,  or  not  at  all. 
Up  the  ladder  and  down  the  wall, 
A  half-penny  roll  will  serve  us  all. 
You  find  milk  and  I'll  find  flour, 
And  we'll  have  pudding  in  half  an  hour. 


M 


Y  DEARS,  not  very  long  ago, 
there  was  a  land  so  dull  and 
slow,  that  broken  Clocks 

107 


refused  to  go.  This  land,  my  Dears, 
was  JUGGER-land;  and  no  one  there 
would  raise  a  hand  to  help  another 
soul,  because  their  HANDS  were  use- 
less, cruel  PAWS.  In  all  the  world 
you  could  not  find  a  People  quite  so 
far  behind  all  other  Races,  as  they  ran 
a  RACE  to  help  their  Fellow-Man. 
I've  seen  these  People  suck  their 
thumbs, so  they  could  pickup  cracker- 
crumbs;  they  did  this  with  a  lazy  jerk, 
because  they  thought  it  too  much 
work.  They  stared  at  CLOCKS  that 
did  not  go,  and  asked  how  time  could 
hurry  so.  I  knew  one  man  in  Jugger- 
land  who  tried  in  vain  to  understand 
the  reason  why  he  went  to  bed.  Why, 
once  that  jugger  person  said: 
109 


Jt3RPRtJ5c,D 


"Beds  have  FOUR  legs;  perhaps 
they  might  decide  to  gallop  off  at 
night.  I  do  not  think  I'll  go  to  bed. 
I  think  I'll  keep  awake  instead.  The 
Bed  might  gallop  off  with  me;  and 
make  me  hurry,  don't  you  see?'3 

Now  wasn't  he  a  jugger  one?  No 
wonder  Clocks  refused  to  run.  But, 
what  was  worst  about  this  folk,  they 
could  not  see  the  BIGGEST  joke; 
and,  next  to  that,  they  would  not  work. 
They  loved  to  laze  about  and  shirk. 
And  there  was  lots  of  work  on  hand 
for  them  to  do  in  Juggerland. 

As  days  went  by  the   work   piled 

high,  but  not  a  soul  would  ever  try 

to  do  the  work  that  lay  around,  until 

an  easy  way  was  found.     At  last  one 

in 


Man's  dull  wits  awoke  to  tell  his  only, 
lonely  JOKE.  He  thought  his  joke 
was  lots  of  FUN,  because  it  was  a 
lazy  one. 

Now  try,  my  Dearies,  if  you  can,  to 
see  that  JOKE  of  Jugger-man.  He 
smiled  a  kind  of  lazy^r/W,  that  puck- 
ered wood  and  rusted  tin.  He  rolled 
his  heavy  head  about,  and  dragged 
his  rusty  JOKE  all  out. 

"  I  do  believe/'  said  he,  "that  we 
just  love  our  work.  7>,  he,  te,  he!  We 
love  it  so  we  want  it  near.  If  we  should 
work  I  really  fear  we' d  hurt  our  work 
by  getting  through  it.  So,  let's  get 
some  one  else  to  do  it." 

That's  how  that  witty  personjoked, 
and  then  he  laughed  and  nearly 

"3 


THEY  WOULD  LIKE  TO  JT£AL  Ucf  TOO. 


choked.  Then  every  other  Jugger- 
man  that  listened  to  that  joke  began 
to  yawn,  and  stretch,  and  grin,  and 
think.  At  last  another  Jugger  spoke: 
"  He,  he !  That  was  a  splendid 
joke.  Now  let  me  say  a  word  to  you, 
so  you  may  learn  a  thing  or  two. 
There's  many  a  trick  and  many  a  quirk 
in  getting  some  others  to  do  our  work. 
Don't  ask  BIG  folks;  they'll  make  a 
fuss,  and  try  to  give  the  work  to  us. 
O,dear!  and  O, dear!  that  never  should 
be  for  wise  Juggermen  like  you  and 
ME.  This  is  wyplan:  We'll  go  and 
get  a  HUNDRED  CHILDREN, 
and  we'll  let  them  do  the  work  that 
we  should  do.  Now,  does  my  plan 
seem  good  to  you?" 


"That's  a  glorious  plan,  ^splendid 
plan,  and  you  are  wise,  wise  Jugger- 
man.  The  wisest  and  wittiest  man 
we've  met.  So  let  us  begin  before  we 
forget.  Let's  steal  all  the  Children 
that  we  can  get.  Yes,  HUNDREDS 
of  Children.  Then  we  will  set  those 
Children  to  work  in  dust  and  murk. 
For  Children  should  know  how  it 
feels  to  work." 

"  HOO-RA Y ! "  yawned  every  Jug- 
german.  "  O,  what  a  glorious  Jugger- 
plan." 

Off  lumbered  those  men  with  shuf- 
fling feet,  through  many  an  alley  and 
darksome  street.  They  grinned 
through  windows,  and  scratched  at 
doors,  and  crawled  about  on  their 
117 


cruel  paws.  Yes,  Dears,  they  had 
paws;  for  such  folks  crawl  when  they 
steal  a  Little  One,  young  and  small. 
Tes,  they  crawled  on  their  paws,  with 
snickers  and  smirks.  That's  the  only 
way  a  Juggerman  works. 

Before  very  long  those  sly  Jugger- 
men  stole  HUNDREDS  and  HUN- 
DREDS of  CHILDREN,  then  they 
carried  them  off  to  Juggerman  Mills, 
that  lay  in  the  shadows  of  Slumber- 
ing Hills. 

The  Juggermen  put  the  Children 
to  work  in  dust,  and  dirt,  and  shadowy 
murk.  They  closed  the  windows  and 
locked  the  doors,  with  their  teeth 
and  their  toes  and  their  Juggerman 
PAWS.  Around  each  Mill  a  Jugger- 
119 


7  n^r  n 


IT.  eJ 


man-wall  was  built,  so  wide,  and  so 
long,  and  so  tall  that  nobody  heard 
the  Children's  cries,  or  saw  the  tears 
in  their  tired  eyes.  Of  course,  the 
poor  Children  did  cry,  my  Dears,  but 
nobody  saw  their  falling  tears.  I  mean, 
that  nobody  seemed  to  care  how  much 
those  Little  Ones  suffered  there.  Of 
course,  the  Juggermen  saw  it  all,  and 
they  heard  the  Little  Ones  cry  and 
call.  But  they  only  snickered  and 
crawled  and  smirked,  for  they  loved 
to  see  how  those  Children  worked. 

So,  on  passed  many  weary  years, 
and  all  this  time  the  Children's  tears 
helped  to  turn  the  wheels  of  many  a 
MILL.  Buzz-buzz  went  all  the 
wheels,  until,  in  all  the  world,  there 

I2T 


was  no  noise  but  that,  and  cries  of 
Girls  and  Boys.  Of  course,  when  Jug- 
ger-wheels  buzz  like  that,  all  Jugger- 
men  grow  both  rich  and  fat.  But  O ! 
my  Dears,  the  world  grows  black,  and 
every  clock  goes  running  back  to 
times  of  darkness  long  ago.  The  flow- 
ing Rivers  cease  to  flow.  The  Trees 
turn  brown.  The  Flowers  pine.  The 
Sun  no  longer  cares  to  shine. 

At  last,  one  day  Spring  came  again. 
She  tried  to  bloom,  but  she  tried  in 
vain.  The  Birds  came  forth,  and 
tried  to  sing,  but  not  one  Bird  could 
sing  a  thing.  Forth  came  the  Forest 
People,  who  had  many,  many  things 
to  do;  but  not  a  little  person  could  do 
anything  he  knew  he  should.  So 
123 


everything  was  strange  and  bad,  and 
all  the  world  was  still  and  sad.  Except 
for  moans  and  WHEELS  that  ground, 
Spring  heard  no  other  kind  of  Sound. 

Then  out  strode  Spring  and  waved 
her  hand  across  that  cruel  Juggerland. 
Out  blazed  the  flaming  wrath  of 
Spring.  With  mighty  hand  and  beat- 
ing wing,  she  swept  around  each 
Jugger-wall,  for  she  had  heard  the 
Children  call. 

O,  Dears!  how  sad  Spring  always 
feels,  when  she  hears  the  grinding  of 
Jugger-wheels.  The  joy  in  her  heart 
all  disappears  when  she  sees  little 
Rivers  of  Children's  Tears.  So  she  was 
sad,  and  her  wrath  burst  forth.  She 
called  her  People  from  South  and 
125 


North.  Then  out  of  the  East  and 
out  of  the  West  she  ordered  the 
presence  of  all  the  rest. 

She  told  her  People  to  pull  down 
the  wall  the  Juggermen  built  so 
broad  and  tall.  She  told  every  Flower 
and  Vine  of  Spring  to  blossom  and 
climb,  and  push  and  cling  to  that 
Juggerman  wall,  till  the  stones  fell 
down,  and  rolled  themselves  through 
Juggerman  Town. 

"O!  pull  and  climb,  my  People/' 
said  she,  "and  break  that  Juggerman 
wall  for  me.  Tour  hands  are  power- 
ful hands  and  deft.  O !  pull  at  those 
stones  till  no  wall  is  left.  And  all  you 
People  of  Field  and  Wood,  your 
hands  aj;e  strong  and  your  hearts  are 
'  127 


THE, 
WITH 


good.  Come,  burrow  and  dig,  to  save 
your  souls.  Dig  under  that  wall  a 
THOUSAND  holes.  O!  listen,  my 
Dears,  to  the  grinding  wheels.  O! 
scratch  with  your  claws  and  kick  with 
your  heels.  We  must  save  those 
Children  behind  that  wall.  So  dig, 
my  People,  and  make  it  fall.  We'll 
save  those  Children;  and  then,  O, 
THEN,  we'll  attend  to  those  cruel 
Juggermen." 

O  !  Dears,  my  Dears,  how  the  voic? 
of  Spring  did  tremble  and  throb  and 
bravely  ring.  And  how  her  People 
did  all  obey.  They  pushed  and  pulled 
and  burrowed,  for  they  just  wanted  the 
Children  to  laugh  and  play.  So  they 
worked  at  their  work  the  livelong  day 
129 


At  last,  when  the  moon  had  climbed 
up  high,  and  Night  had  come  all  over 
the  sky,  DOWN  fell  the  Juggermen's 
cruel  wall,  and  great  was  its  rumbling, 
tumbling  fall. 

Then  every  Subject  of  conquering 
Spring  just  ,  capered  with  joy,  and 
began  to  sing.  And  every  Child  in  a 
Juggerman  Mill  swarmed  over  the 
broken  wall,  until  the  wall  was  as  flat 
as  a  Juggerman's  JOKE,  and  as  use- 
less as  all  of  the  Jugger-MILL'S 
smoke. 

Then  Spring  and  her  People  all 
scurried  around,  and  buried  the  Jug- 
germen's feet  in  the  ground.  They 
buried  the  Juggermen  up  to  their 
knees,  in  hopes  that  they'd  turn  into 


Juggernut  Trees.  But,  fearing  to  leave 
them  too  much  all  alone,  they  hung 
on  the  neck  of  each  Jugger  a  stone. 
Then  Spring  smiled  and  blossomed 
for  each  Little  Tot.  And  so,  before 
long,  all  those  Children  forgot  that 
ever  a  Juggerman's  cruel  wall  stood 
between  them  and  SPRINGTIME 
and  Everything  GOOD. 


THE   NORTH   WIND 
DOTH   BLOW 

The  North  Wind  doth  blow, 
And  we  shall  have  snow, 
And  what  will  poor  Robin  do  then  ? 
POOR  THING! 

He'll  sit  in  the  barn 
To  keep  himself  warm, 
And  hide  his  head  under  his  wing, 
POOR  THING! 

MY  DEARS,  I  once  knew  very 
well  a  little  Robin  that  had 
such  a  pretty,  glossy  breast, 
and  he  was  round  and  fat.      His  bill 


H©PPI$ 


was  just  the  sharpest  bill.  His  claws 
were  just  the  strongest.  As  for  the 
feathers  on  his  tail,  they  were  the  best 
and  longest. 

His  name  was  Hoppie  Robin,  Dears. 
He  had  so  much  to  do  that,  when 
you  asked  him  what  it  was,  he'd  cock 
his  head  at  you.  He'd  wink  his  eye 
and  bob  his  tail,  and  hop  a  yard  or 
two.  Yes,  he  would  hop  straight  to 
a  spot,  exactly  where  he  knew  a  little 
Worm,  all  full  of  dirt,  was  squirming 
quite  a  squirm.  With  one  quick  pick 
he'd  swallow  him.  (HOW  Robin 
loved  a  Worm!) 

When  I  first  met  this  Robin  Bird, 
it  was  when  happy  Spring  was  plant- 
ing Flowers  everywhere  and  doing 

'37 


TO 


everything.  The  air  was  full  of  busy 
sounds.  The  Leaves  were  "little- 
green,"  and  all  around  the  busy  hand 
of  happy  Spring  was  seen. 

Yes,  Dears,  it  was  a  joyful  day.  My 
heart  was  full  of  Words  that  could  be 
only  understood  by  Children  and  by 
Birds.  That  day  I  had  no  little  Child 
to  tell  the  Things  I  knew,  so  I  went 
out  beneath  a  Tree  where  Baby  Flow- 
ers grew.  Then  I  leaned  back  against 
a  Tree  to  take  a  pleasant  rest,  and 
whistled  for  my  Robin  Friend,  who 
had  the. glossy  breast.  As  quickly  as 
a  funny  wink,  nice  Hoppie  Robin  flew 
to  me,  and  said: 

"  Well,  Mr.  Sir,  what  can  I  do  for 
you?" 

'39 


"  If  you  don't  mind/'  I  said  to  him, 
"  I  have  some  little  Words  that  I  can 
only  talk  aloud  to  Children  and  to 
Birds.  I've  hunted  for  a  little  Child, 
but  not  one  can  I  find;  so,  Robin,  I 
will  talk  with  you,  if  you  don't  really 
mind." 

"I  have  a  lot  of  work  to  do,"  my 
little  Robin  said;  "but  if  you  need 
me  very  much,  I'll  talk  to  you  in- 
stead." 

"O!  thank  you,  little  Robin  dear. 
I  wonder  if  you're  well.  If  you  have 
any  time  to  spare,  I  wish  you'd  try  to 
tell  just  how  you  spend  the  Spring- 
time, Dear,  and  howthe  Summer  goes. 
When  golden  Autumn  comes  around 
you're  busy,  I  suppose.  But,  Robin, 
141 


OtD  .NORTH  VfUSTD 


tell  me  all  about  the  WINTER,  when 
the  snow  is  on  the  ground,  so  white 
and  cold.  I  really  want  to  know.  Dear 
Robin  Bird,  what  do  you  do  when 
fierce  Old  North  Wind  blows,  and 
when  he  freezes  every  thing,  and  when 
it  snows,  and  snows  ?  If  you  have  time 
to  tell  all  this,  you  blessed  Robin  Bird, 
I'll  listen  with  my  ears  and  heart  to 
every  single  word." 

"O,  dear!  O,  dear!  you  Mr.  Sir," 
said  Robin,  thoughtfully,  "that  story 
will  be  long  to  tell  for  Robin  Birds 
like  me.  But,  as  you  seem  to  need  to 
hear,  I'll  perch  upon  your  knee  and 
tell  you  all  I  can  at  once.  Now, 
Mister,  let — me — see.  Yes,  now  I  see, 
my  story  must  begin  right  in  the 

H3 


HIS 


SPRING;  for  Spring  is  just  the  nicest 
time  to  start  a  pleasant  thing." 

Hop  Robin  scratched  his  little 
head,  and  twinkled  with  his  eye. 
Then  whistled  to  another  Bird  that 
hurried  quickly  by.  O!  how  his  funny 
little  claws  did  scratch  and  tickle  me 
as  he  stood  very  carefully  upon  my 
happy  knee.  At  last  he  gave  his 
handsome  tail  a  cozy  kind  of  jerk,  and 
told  me  all  about  himself,  forgetting 
all  his  work. 

"  You  see,  dear  Mr.  Sir,  that  we 
good  Robins  have  to  do  a  lot  of  work 
before  the  days  of  pleasant  Spring  are 
through.  Spring  whispers  to  us  Robin 
Birds;  the  whisper  makes  us  dizzy 
with  all  the  things  it  tells  about  to 

H5 


HIS 


VA 


keep  us  very  busy.  I  have  to  sing 
and  fly  around;  and  then  I  have  to 
sit  upon  a  limb,  and  chirp  and  hop, 
and  jig  my  tall  a  bit.  And  then  I 
sing  a  little  more,  to  keep  my  songs 
a-working ;  and  then  I  cock  my  eye  to 
see  just  how  my  tail  is  jerking.  When 
I  have  done  a  lot  of  things,  and  see 
them  nicely  done,  I  go  and  hunt  for 
Squirmy  Worm,  and  have  a  lot  of 
FUN." 

As  Robin  mentioned  "Squirmy 
Worm,"  you  should  have  heard  his 
chuckles.  Then,  with  a  hop,  he 
jumped  upon  my  right  hand's  happy 
knuckles. 

"There,  that  is  nice,"  said  Robin 
Bird.  "I  feel  your  knuckles  squirm 

H7 


so,  as  I  talk,  I  think  I'll  be  reminded 
of  a  WORM/' 

"Well,  Robin  Bird,"  I  said  to  him, 
"I  never  heard  before  that  knuckles 
were  at  all  like  WORMS— but, 
Robin,  talk  some  more." 

"  Well,  keep  your  knuckles  quiet 
then.  Don't  dare  to  move  your  hand ; 
for  too  impatient  knuckles,  Sir,  no 
Robin  Bird  can  stand." 

"Then  I'll  be  quiet,  Robin  dear. 
I  will  not  move  an  inch.  Go  on 
and  tell  me  plenty  more,  but  promise 
not  to  pinch." 

"Well,  Sir,"  said  he,  "I  start  right 

in  to  sing  some  more  again,  for  I  get 

very  happy,  Sir.      I  sing  with  might 

and  main.      Before  so  very  long,  I  see 

149 


GL,D 
WHICH  TO  BUILD  OVR. 


another  Robin  Bird;  she  listens  to 
my  pretty  song,  and  answers  every 
word.  She  understands  the  thoughts  I 
think,  and  all  the  song  I  sing,  because 
the  same  dear,  happy  song  is  taught 
to  her  by  Spring.  Then  we  both  hurry 
off  to  find  the  safest  and  the  best  Old 
Tree  in  which  to  build  ourselves  the 
nicest  kind  of  NEST.  Then  we  go 
hunting  all  around  for  many,  many 
things — like  straw  and  grass,  and  little 
sticks,  and  fluffy  threads  and  strings. 
With  these  we  make  our  cozy  NEST, 
quite  round  and  deep  and  wide,  with 
all  the  bits  ^fluffy  stuff  laid  carefully 
inside.  Then  pretty  Lady  Robin  Bird 
just  /oves  our  cozy  nest,  and  settles  in 
it  happily  to  take  a  pleasant  rest.  O ! 


O!  you  Mr.  Sir,  I  say,  it  is  a  sight  to 
see  how  sociable  and  comfortable  my 
Lady  Bird  can  be/' 

As  Hoppie  Robin  told  me  that,  up 
went  his  little  bill,  and  happy  song 
came  pouring  out,  and  bubbled  on, 
until  I  thought  he'd  die  of  happiness; 
for  every  joyful  note  in  all  the  life  of 
that  wee  Bird  came  throbbing  from 
his  throat.  At  last  his  joyous  Nest- 
ing Song  in  echoes  went  to  meet  a 
THOUSAND  happy  silent  Things 
that  made  dear  Spring  so  sweet.  I 
couldn't  say  a  single  word;  so  I  kept 
quiet,  Dears,  and  Robin  looked  at  me, 
and  saw  my  eyes  were  glad  with  tears. 

"  Ha !  Ha !  You  like  my  Song,  I 
see,"  that  jolly  Robin  said;  "but,  as  I 

'53 


have  a  lot  to  tell,  I'd  better  talk 
ahead." 

"I  wish  you  would,  my  Dear,"  I 
said.  "I'd  like  to  hear  the  rest  of 
your  nice  story;  but,  my  Dear,  do 
what  you  think  is  best." 

"Well,  Mr.  Sir,  then  come  the 
days  of  Song  and  Work  and  Fun,  with 
here  and  there  a  worm  or  two,  and 
lots  of  air  and  sun.  All  these  are  days 
when  Lady  Bird  grows  nicer  every 
day,  as  she  lays  pretty  Robin's  eggs  to 
while  her  time  away.  Most  of  my 
Lady  Robin's  days  were  spent  upon 
our  nest,  to  keep  the  eggs  all  good 
and  warm.  My  Lady  knows  what's 
best;  so  I  just  let  her  stay  at  home, 
and  brood  and  chirp  and  brood;  and 

'55 


*./mu 

"I-JY,  BUT  TH^T  v»^$  j^  -JTR^K^- 


I  go  out  to  get  for  her  the  proper 
kind  of  food.  My  Lady  likes  a  worm 
or  two  almost  as  well  as  I ;  so  I  keep 
Lady  Bird  supplied — at  least,  I  always 
try.  Now,  that  reminds  me,  Mr.  Sir, 
I  once  picked  hard  to  get  a  hearty  kind 
of  Worm,  and  I  got  almost  all  upset. 
You  see,  I  spied  that  hearty  Worm, 
and  he  was  very  long,  and  he  was 
very  savage,  too,  and  very,  very  strong. 
I  gave  a  careful  peck  at  him.  You 
should  have  seen  him  whirl  and  twist 
and  jerk  and  pull  and  haul.  O!  how 
that  Worm  did  curl.  I  couldn't  pull 
that  worm  out  straight  because  he 
twisted  so ;  and  when  I  thought  I  had 
him  tight)  I  slipped,  and  let  him  go. 
When  Robins  slip  like  that,  you  know, 

157 


1  THAT 


they  very  seldom  fail  to  tumble  back 
like  anything  upon  their  only  tail. 
That  healthy  Worm  slid  in  his  hole, 
and  I  could  plainly  see  that  once  or 
twice  he  turned  around  and  made  a 
face  at  me.  O!  I  can  tell  you,  Mr. 
Sir,  I'm  very  careful  now  to  hold  on 
tight  to  any  Worm — I'd  like  to  show 
you  how " 

As  Hoppie  Robin  told  me  that  he 
looked  excited,  and  his  claws  pinched 
into  one  tall  knuckle  of  my  useful 
hand. 

"No;  please  don't  bother,  Robin, 
dear,"  I  thought  it  best  to  say,  because 
I  wanted  one  poor  Worm  to  live  an- 
other day. 

So  Hoppie  Robin  settled  down  to 

'59 


quietly  explain  how  Robins  lived  their 
happy  lives,  and  he  was  nice  again. 

"Well,  by  and  by,  dear  Mr.  Sir,  I 
hear  my  Lady  sing  as  if  she  had 
some  NEWS  about  the  dearest  sort  of 
thing.  And,  as  she  sings,  I  hear  a 
sound  I  never  heard  before.  She  hears 
it,  too;  and,  O!  dear  Sir,  it  makes 
her  sing  the  more.  The  way  that 
Lady  Robin  sings  is  quite  too  much 
for  me.  She  must  have  something 
grand  to  show,  so  I  fly  off  to  see.  I 
leave  the  Worm  I  wanted  so.  I  leave 
my  friend,  the  Tree.  I  must  go  find 
the  reason  why  she  sings  so  joyfully/' 

My  Robin  stopped  a  moment  then 
and  looked  up  at  the  sky,  and  I  could 
see  a  pretty  light  was  shining  in  his 
161 


IN 


eye.  But  soon  he  looked  at  me  again, 
and  every  word  he  said  came  far  much 
more  from  Robin's  Heart  than  from 
his  little  head. 

"O,  Mr.  Sir!  dear  Mr.  Sir!  There, 
in  our  cozy  Nest,  I  see  some  little 
Baby  Birds — the  very  prettiest,  and 
finest  of  all  Baby  Birds.  O!  O!  they 
cry  so  loud,  that  all  my  heart  gets  big 
and  glad,  and  /  get  very  proud.  Then 
Mother  Bird  and  I  sing  more,  and 
hop  around  the  nest.  I  twitter  and  I 
sing,  and  /  stick  out  my  glossy  breast. 
Just  think  of  it.  Not  long  ago  we 
only  had  some  eggs,  and  now  we  have 
some  Baby  Birds 9  with  eyes,  and 
wings,  and  LEGS.  O!  really,  it  was 
wonderful  for  us  to  look,  and  see  how 


"1  COULDNT  &&  HOWVUCH 
CQUW? 


dear  and  sweet,  and  noisy,  too,  our 
little  Birds  could  be.  Yes,  to  be  sure, 
those  Baby  Birds  had  very  MON- 
strous  bills;  and,  then,  instead  of 
feathers,  they  had  rather  useless  quills. 
Their  heads  were  big,  their  legs  were 
queer,  their  necks  were  rather  strange; 
but,  if  we  only  gave  them  time,  all 
these  would  surely  change.  As  I 
looked  at  our  Baby  Birds  I  couldn't 
see  at  all  how  such  big  MOUTHS  as 
theirs  could  be  on  any  Birds  so  small. 
O !  such  a  noise  the  big  mouths  made. 
O!  such  a  baby-din.  I  looked  down 
into  one  of  them  and  almost  tumbled 
in.  That  made  me  think  of  Worms 
again.  I'd  get  their  supper  but,  I 
feared  there  were  not  Worms  enough 


to  keep  them  fall  and  shut.  But  still 
I  did  the  best  I  could.  I  bustled  day 
and  night  to  keep  my  Babies'  mon- 
strous mouths  shut  very,  very  tight. 
O !  Mister,  those  were  busy  days,  but 
very  happy,  too,  for  folks  are  the 
happiest  with  lots  of  things  to  do." 

As  Robin  said  these  pleasant  words, 
he  looked  so  glad  and  proud,  that  from 
his  blessed  heart  there  came  a  song 
both  long  and  loud.  He  held  his 
happy  head  up  high,  and  ere  his  song 
was  done  there  wasn't  an  #//-happy 
Heart  beneath  God's  golden  Sun. 
Then  Robin  looked  at  me,  and  said: 

"Now,  Mr.  Sir,  you  see  how  very 
happy  and  how  proud  a  Father  Bird 
can  be." 

167 


HOPPI£  T^pBLN 


.   V 


"Yes,  yes,  dear  Robin,"  I  replied, 
"you  make  it  very  plain." 

Then  Robin  left  my  hand  and 
hopped  upon  my  knee  again.  As  he 
stood  there  he  winked  his  eye  and 
thought  a  pleasant  thought;  then  said 
to  me,  quite  pleasantly: 

"Dear  Sir,  I  think  I  ought  to  do 
the  work  I  have  to  do.  J'm  working 
on  a  Nest.  Shall  I  tell  more  about 
myself?  I've  told  you  all  the  best/' 

"Just  as  you  choose/'  I  said  to 
him;  "to,  little  Robin  Bird,  I  have 
enjoyed  your  story  so,  I  loved  each 
happy  word." 

"O!  is  that  so?'9  he  said  to  me. 
"Then  I  might  just  as  well  go  on  with 
all  the  little  that  is  left  for  me  to  tell." 
169 


TO  HOP  UPON 


ONE  0£i  TH£  BOYJ- 


"  O,  thank  you,  Dear !  I  thank  you, 
Dear!"  I  said  to  Robin  Bird,  and,  as 
he  talked,  I  listened  to  each  happy 
birdie-word. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Sir,  the  days  went  by, 
and  ere  so  very  long  our  Children 
grew;  their  wings  did,  too,  and  they 
were  well  and  strong.  As  time  went 
on  their  MOUTHS  began  to  grow  real 
nice  and  small;  as  for  their  quilly 
necks  and  legs,  they  were  not  bad  at 
all.  Then  very  soon  they  learned  to 
hop  upon  a  pleasant  limb.  One  of  my 
Boys  tried  hard  to  fly,  which  was 
quite  smart  of  him.  Then  Mother 
Bird  and  I  taught  all  our  Children 
how  to^/?x;  and  it  was  quite  exciting, 
Sir,  to  see  those  Birdies  try.  At  last 
171 


our  Robins  learned  to  chirp,  and  then 
they  learned  to  sing :  this  made  their 
Mother  very  glad,  and  proud  as  any 
thing.  And  so  the  sunny  Summer 
passed  and  golden  Autumn  came,  but 
we  were  happy  and  we  did  our  sing- 
ing just  the  same.  At  last  there  came 
a  day  when  I  went  to  our  Nest,  to 
see  if  every  one  was  very  well ;  but 
no  one  sang  to  me.  My  Boys  were 
gone.  Their  wings  were  strong.  My 
Sons  had  flown  away  far  to  the  South, 
where  good  Old  Sun  makes  Spring- 
time every  day.  I  called  for  Lady 
Mother  Bird,  but  no  one  answered  me ; 
and  so  I  waited  there  a  while  upon 
our  Nesting  Tree.  I  think  my  Lady 
Mother  Bird  went  with  her  precious 


<2iOLD£N  AUTUMN 


Sons,  for  Mothers  are  quite  apt  to 
think  big  Boys  are  little  ones." 

Here  Robin  stopped  his  story  for  a 
quiet  little  wink,  for  that's  how 
Robins  try  to  hide  the  lonely  thoughts 
they  think.  But  very  soon  he  winked 
at  me  in  quite  another  way.  He 
combed  his  pretty  feathers,  and  I  heard 
my  Robin  say: 

"Yes,  it  was  getting  very  cold. 
The  leaves  were  falling  down,  and 
made  the  ground  all  beautiful  with 
red  and  gold  and  brown.  I  couldn't 
find  a  single  Worm.  I  hunted  every- 
where; but  it  was  cold>  and  somehow, 
Sir,  I  did  not  seem  to  care.  Just  once 
or  twice  I  tried  to—sing,  but  all  the 
Trees  were  bare;,  .so' .my  poor. song 

'75 


COLP  WINTER  CAME  W11H  ^NOVT. 


was  very  short,  and  seemed  quite  use- 
less there." 

«O,  little  Bird!  Dear  little  Bird! 
don't  tell  me  more,"  I  said. 

But  Robin  pinched  my  quiet  knee 
and  cocked  his  little  head.  And  then 
he  shook  his  pretty  wings  and  ruffled 
up  his  breast,  and  said: 

"  I'll  thank  you,  Mr.  Sir,  to  listen 
to  the  rest.  And  then  the  Wind  far 
from  the  North  began  to  blow  and 
blow.  Then  very  soon  the  cold,  gray 
Sky  sent  down  some^/V/f  snow.  Be- 
fore my  very  eyes  I  saw  some  lonely 
Leaves  go  by.  How  strange  it  was  to 
see  the  things  that  Winter  helped  to 
fly.  O!  it  was  cold.  Dear  Spring 
was  gone,  and  I  could  plainly  see 

'77 


that  where  such  funny  things  could 
fly  was  not  the  place  for  me.  So  I 
tucked  in  my  feathers  tight,  and  hur- 
ried fast  away  to  just  the  nicest,  warm- 
est BARN,  all  full  of  Summer's  HAY. 
In  that  nice  Barn  I  found  a  perch,  as 
cozy  as  could  be;  and  it  was  just  the 
safest  place  for  Robin  Birds  like  me. 
I  tucked  my  head  beneath  my  wing, 
for  some  one  kind  has  told  how  wings 
are  good  to  make  you  warm  whenever 
you  are  cold.  I  didn't  even  sing  a 
word;  I  knew  my  song  would  keep 
until  dear  Spring  came  back  again. 
So  I  FELL  FAST  ASLEEP. 

"All  Winter  long  I  dreamed  a  dream 
about  my  pleasant  Spring;  and,  may- 
be, one  wee,  dreamy  Song  got  under- 
179 


neath  my  wing.  Yes,  I  am  very  sure 
one  did,  because  my  heart  was  kept  so 
full  of  love  and  happiness  through  all 
the  time  I  slept." 

That  was  the  end  of  Robin's  tale; 
so  Robin  chirped  at  me,  and  gave  a 
tiny,  little  scratch  upon  my  quiet 
knee. 

"  Good-bye,  dear  Mr.  Sir,"  he  said. 
"  I  have  a  lot  to  do." 

"GW-bye,  dear  Robin  Bird,"  I 
said.  "I'm  much  obliged  to  you." 

"Don't  mention  it,"  said  Robin  Bird. 
"Please  listen  and  Til  sing.  I'm 
building  just  the  dearest  Nest.  It's 
Spring!  It's  Spring!  It's  Spring!" 

Away  flew  little  Robin  Bird;  and 
soon  a  joyous  Song  came  back  to  me 
181 


from  Robin's  NEST,  and  it  was  sweet 
and  long.  That's  all,  my  Dears,  I 
have  to  tell  of  what  such  Robins  do, 
because  I  know  their  happy  Songs  are 
made  up  just  for  YOU.  But,  as  for 
me,  I  wish  for  you  the  dearest  sort  of 
thing.  I  wish  your  blessed  little  Hearts 
to  be  eternal  SPRING. 


183 


I  wonder  if  yo 
like  the  picture^ 


